China Box Office: ‘Thor’ Takes Weekend Win From ‘Orient Express’

China Box Office: ‘Thor’ Takes Weekend Win From ‘Orient Express’
(Variety) In a session full of new releases, Disney/Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” managed to hold its own at the top of the Chinese box office for a second weekend.

The film earned $21.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to figures from local data provider, Ent Group. That gave it a healthy cumulative of $95 million after 10 days.

“Murder on the Orient Express” headed the chart on Friday, when it scored $4.93 million. But it finished its opening weekend in second place behind “Thor,” with $18.5 million.

On each day “Orient Express” played some 67,000 sessions. “Thor” played 58,000 on Friday, and increased to more than 63,000 on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets for “Orient Express” were priced at an average of some $0.8 lower than “Thor,” meaning that it had significantly weaker per ticket and per screen yields. That was only partially a reflection of the IMAX performance of “Thor.” The film earned $2.4 million of its weekend total from 451 screens in China. The film’s IMAX cumulative in China stands $9.7 million after 10 days.

Hong Kong action film “The Brink” placed in third throughout the weekend and finished with $6.43 million. Directed by Jonathan Li and starring Max Zhang, Shawn Yue and Janice Man, the film is the story of an ex-cop who finds himself in the firing line when gangsters seek revenge on his godfather.

The film is a co-production with Chinese streaming service iQIYI.

Fourth place went to Chinese adventure “Seventy-Seven Days.” It opened with $3.77 million in three days.

Japanese animation franchise instalment, “Pokemon The Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel” was released only on Saturday, but placed fifth overall. It scored $2.22 million.

Chinese romance, “Perfect Couple” followed with $2.17 million in its opening three days.

Bille August’s fact-based wartime drama “The Chinese Widow” disappointed in seventh place with $1.86 million. Made as a Chinese picture and boasting an international cast and crew, the film had opened the Shanghai International Film Festival in June.

Former box office leader, “Geostorm” earned a further $1.67 million. That extended its cumulative to $63.6 million after 17 days.

New release comedy, “Trouble Makers” troubled audiences for $1.35 million in ninth place.

Tenth spot belonged to long-running action comedy “Never Say Die.” It added $970,000in three days for a cumulative of 392 million after 44 days in theaters.